There are two sides to any interview. Whether you’re applying for a new job or you’re finding yourself on the other side of the desk for the first time, it’s important to remember that a) an interview is a two-way street and b) that this is your best opportunity to sell yourself, your skills and if you’re conducting the interview, your company.

Part 1: Being hired

Most of this is common sense, but that doesn’t make it any less critical.

Arrive on time or, even better, ten minutes early – Plan your journey and allow breathing space for delays. That ten minutes will let you collect yourself and prepare your thoughts

Dress appropriately – Remember, it’s about knowing your audience. A client facing role in a more traditional corporate company will likely require business attire, but many start-ups are relaxing dress codes and you don’t want to wander in wearing a bowler hat and a monocle if everyone is wearing trainers and hoodies. Understand your industry and the company and either way, be showered, be ironed and appear neat and presentable. It might not warrant a tie, but it probably warrants a clean shirt. Equally, if you’re interviewing on a live construction site, stiletto heels probably aren’t practical. If you’ve been told a specific dress code, click here to find out what it means

Know yourself and your subject – Preparation, preparation, preparation is the best way to succeed in a job interview, everything else is extra

Make sure you know the company inside out – Find out what you can about who is interviewing you (use LinkedIn and don’t worry that they’ll know you’ve been snooping – it shows you’ve taken initiative), and know your own experience

It’s not enough to be able to rattle off a list of jobs and grades – You might have had a job, and you might have been responsible for the petty cash box, but that doesn’t prove you were any good at it. Think in measurables – ‘I decreased my company’s petty cash box mistakes by 70% in 2017 by implementing a new system’, for example. Solid illustrations and examples are worth more than vague references to being a good multi-tasker and a team player – show them the evidence